Welcome! Grab a cup of tea, and enjoy browsing some of the photos and stories. As the 'teawife,' it is my duty to watch and listen and be a supportive friend, and a loving mum and wife. I should post more often, but sticking my nose into everyone's business keeps me busy! Kathy the teawife

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Withdrawals

As many of my friends know, I'm often called 'the teawife.' This Irish term has much more depth and meaning that just 'a wife who drinks tea.' It also represents a sisterhood of women who share, care and are concerned for others. That's a polite way of saying that a teawife loves a bit of gossip!

But a teawife does enjoy a good cup of tea with a 'natter' (idle chatter).

Some of you might be surprised that this teawife not only loves and is pretty much addicted to tea, but I also like a strong cappuccino. I realize in my tea circles that this admission is akin to admitting to some horrible crime!

There are certain times of the day that call out for a comforting tea. There is nothing better, when arriving from an international flight and dragging with jet lag, to see the electric kettle and know a cup of tea is minutes away. Or when the stress and chores of the day take their toll, an afternoon can be soothed with a cup of strong and dimensional tea.

Likewise, cappuccino has its occasion, such as when I need a quick jolt in the morning. I also find it a calms my hunger in the afternoons as I continue my weight loss. I almost view a cappuccino as a fine food as opposed to simply a beverage.

If I need a thirst quencher or a comforting-hand-holder, I opt for a tea. If I am hankering for a creamy, indulgent, get-me-going experience, I reach for a cappuccino.

One thing I discovered about coffee when living in Abu Dhabi is that I prefer Arabica beans to Robusta. The Emiratis love their coffee, and they have a partiality for fine Italian Arabica blends. I could buy coffee everywhere, from boutique shops to grocery stores. I eventually settled on Lavazza (www.lavazza.com) as my favorite. One of my friends introduced me to the Italian stovetop espresso percolator, and I was hooked!

I made espressos and cappuccinos with the percolator for a while, until moving to England when another friend introduced me to the Nespresso system, complete with electric milk frother. My life would never be the same. While the percolator took at least five to 10 minutes from start to finish to make a cappuccino, the Nespresso was minutes, as fast as making a cup of tea! I was in heaven! And, the Nespresso Club has a wide range of coffee blends for you to discover if you like rounder, bolder or smoother cups.

I liked the Nespresso system so much that I purchased an identical Essenza espresso maker and electric milk frother for our Colorado home! Dear son will acquire my English system when he moves off to university next year. I can imagine having an espresso maker in one's student room might be a pretty good ice breaker!

This morning I needed an espresso boost, and you can imagine my horror when I went to fill up the water receptacle on the Nespresso, and I dropped the tank on the tile floor! Ooooooops! The plastic water tank is a complete write off, cracked all the way down the side. Was I going to have to purchase a whole new machine? Thankfully, no . . . the folks at Nespresso are so friendly and helpful! It will cost a princely $5 to replace the water tank, and they waived the shipping charge! I'll have the replacement water tank in a couple of days.

After all that hoopla, I needed a soothing cup of tea. Thank goodness the kettle's working!

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About Me

Welcome! I am Kathy the Teawife. Having been fortunate to travel around the world and live in the United States, England, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, I've now settled in a lakehouse nestled in the Colorado Front Range with my recently retired hubby. With our son away pursuing a doctoral degree in genetics and biochemistry at the School of Medicine, University of Cardiff, Wales, hubby and I have loads of time to play and explore. While I started my professional career as a publication writer and editor, my various detours and life events have led me into different avenues. Today, my passions include paper crafting, creating cards, designing mixed media pieces, taking photos, messing around with design software, and blogging. I especially enjoy teaching crafty projects, either in person or online. I've found that paper crafting is a wonderful way to meet new people when moving to new places. Thank you for stopping by for a visit!